clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

LA is the best place to find rare Pokémon

New, 4 comments

Look out everyone, the city may soon be overrun with Poké-tourists

Is Los Angeles about to be flooded with tourists pursuing Pokémon? It just might be, if a new study from travel site Wanderu is correct. According to the site, LA leads all other US cities in the number of hard-to-find Pokémon.

Using data apparently compiled from Twitter, Wanderu searched for reports of rare Pokémon sightings in 250 US cities. The research revealed that LA is a veritable menagerie of diverse and unusual Poke-creatures. Though you won’t find Hitmonchan here—or Magnemite—Hitmonlee, Lapras, Chansey, and even Kabuto are apparently roaming around the Southern California wild.

With 17 different types of rare Pokémon spotted in Los Angeles, it appears to be miles ahead of other cities as a catching destination. Seattle and New York tied for second on the list, with just eight types of rare Pokémon spotted. Houston and San Jose were next, with six each.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles was also first in sightings of epic Pokémon, mythical Pokémon, and special Pokémon. What does this mean? We have no idea. We’re just glad that LA is topping a list for something other than worst traffic or most unaffordable housing prices.

For the convenience of Pokémon hunters, Wanderu has also planned out trips from Las Vegas and San Francisco to LA. It remains to be seen whether players will begin pouring into town now that the word is out about the prominence of elusive Pokémon in the city, but avid catchers have already flocked to the Santa Monica Pier and the Watts Towers, among plenty of other places. Savvy LA-area hotels may want to see about getting a Pokéstop on the premises.